Unit 5: Evolutionary Patterns, Phylogeny, and Macroevolution

Question 1

Why do we use phylogenetic trees?

Answer 1

This is a branching diagram that shows the relationships between species often according to the time since a common ancestor.

Question 2

What is phylogeny?

Answer 2

History of descent with branching.

Question 3

What is the order of the phylogeny?

Answer 3

1. ) Individuals
2. ) Population
3. ) Species
4. ) Phylogeny

Question 4

What is the phylogram?

Answer 4

This is a diagram where the branch length determines the amount of inferred evolutionary time.

Question 5

What is the cladogram?

Answer 5

This is when the branches are of equal length.

Question 6

What is the difference between phylograms and cladograms?

Answer 6

The length of the branches and the use of time in phylograms.

Question 7

What are sister groups?

Answer 7

Groups that share a common ancestor that is uncommon to other groups.

Question 8

What is a clade?

Answer 8

A section of the diagram that includes the sister groups and common ancestors.

Question 9

What is a monophyletic group?

Answer 9

These include common ancestors and all of its descendants.

Question 10

What is a paraphyletic group?

Answer 10

These include common ancestors and some but not all of its descendants.

Question 11

What is a polyphyletic group?

Answer 11

Does not include the common ancestors.

Question 12

What are the characters that are used in a phylogeny?

Answer 12

The character used vary among but not within species and have a genetic basis.

Question 13

What are homologous characters?

Answer 13

These are shared because of common ancestry and derived characters as a result.

Question 14

What are analogous characters?

Answer 14

Homoplasy means similar in appearance but not in origin shared because of converging evolution.

Question 15

What is homology?

Answer 15

Evolved once in the common ancestor.

Question 16

What is homoplasy?

Answer 16

Evolved independently.

Question 17

How are homologies recognized?

Answer 17

• Structural similarities
• Relations between parts
• Embryonic development

Question 18

What is macroevolution?

Answer 18

The evolution above the species level such as the assessment of diversity of an entire clade and its position on the tree.

Question 19

What is adaptive radiation?

Answer 19

The rapid evolution of new species occupying new niches.

Question 20

What is anagenesis?

Answer 20

Speciation wherein the ancestors species is wholly replaced by new species.

Question 21

What is cladogenesis?

Answer 21

Parent species splits into 2 species.

Question 22

What is graduated evolution?

Answer 22

Slow and steady gradual evolutions.

Question 23

What is punctuated evolution?

Answer 23

Rate and rapid on a geological time scale events of branching speciation which results in cladogenesis.

Question 24

What is taxonomy?

Answer 24

This is the categorization of organisms into different groups.

Question 25

Where were the first prokaryotes found?

Answer 25

Through sediment layers called stromatolites.

Question 26

What was the Proterozoic period?

Answer 26

This was the archaea period of 4 billion to 510 million years ago.

Question 27

How did the oxygenation event occur?

Answer 27

The oxygenation event was a result of photosynthesis which increased the oxygen levels.

Question 28

How did the first eukaryote come about?

Answer 28

Through the process of endosymbiosis the first eukaryotic organism came about.

Question 29

What was the Palaeozoic period?

Answer 29

The Cambrian explosion; invasion of land; appearance of gymnosperms; major of tetrapods.

Question 30

What was the Cambrian explosion?

Answer 30

This was the rapid appearance of many groups of organisms about 530 MYA.

Question 31

What was the Ediacaran Faun?

Answer 31

This was the period 640 MYA with lots of weird forms of animals that are now extinct.